[Joe Bausch]

Joe Juliano writes on the tournament for Philly.com:

http://www2.philly.com/philly/sports/golf/golf-bmw-championship-aronimink-newton-square-20180904.html

Frank Fitzpatrick writes on Victor Dallin for Philly.com:

http://www2.philly.com/philly/sports/the-world-war-i-flier-behind-aroniminks-restoration-20180904.html

Frank Fitzpatrick writes on Ricky Fowler for Philly.com:

http://www2.philly.com/philly/sports/golf/rickie-fowler-aronimink-golf-bmw-championship-pga-tour-fedex-cup-20180904.html

July article by Joe Juliano on Aronimink:

http://www2.philly.com/philly/sports/golf/bmw-championship-aronimink-jay-sigel-gil-hanse-20180709.html

Pete Bannan writes on Tiger Woods for the DelcoTimes:

https://www.delcotimes.com/sports/delco-crowd-gets-first-chance-to-see-tiger-woods-rory/article_32af3dd0-b089-11e8-a3db-fbd0398ce363.html

Jim McCabe article atPGATOUR.com on the tourney:

https://www.pgatour.com/news/2018/09/04/bmw-championship-five-things-to-know-aronimink-golf-club-fedexcup-playoffs.html

My photo album of Aronimink from a July 2018 visit (these are formatted wide so a big monitor is useful, grin):

http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/albums/AroniminkGC/

Same album but formatted a bit smaller:

http://www.myphillygolf.com/uploads/bausch/AroniminkGC/index.html

[David_Tepper]

youtube videos:

Part One -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWcGkDhthLc   

Part Two -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRUOv_gTZG0

[Tim_Cronin]

Excellent! A delightful course to walk around, has to be even better to play.

[D_Malley]

The course looks very soft right now, which is expected with the heat and humidity in Phila.

[Thomas Dai]

Heard one of the Sky commentators say that “there’s a lot of MacKenzie at Aronimink.” Interesting comment!
Atb

[Alan FitzGerald CGCS MG]

The course looks very soft right now, which is expected with the heat and humidity in Phila.

The Philly area has had the wettest summer on record - with more rain forecast for the weekend

[Mark_Fine]

We have had three floods in the Lehigh Valley in the last two months.  Courses are taking a beating.  Yes Aronimink is playing very soft.  It will have to firm up A LOT to provide much defense against these guys.  Hard to see a course like that turn into chip and putt 

[Ed Brzezowski]

Working the seventh hole, 395 yards. Except for a few gents who nailed the tree at the corner the average shot in was in the range of 60-70 yards. Some getting down to 35-40 yards and flopping in, it's fun to watch.

[Eric LeFante]

Seems to me like the fairways are too wide for the pros. I like the increased width for amateurs but I think it’s too easy and one dimensional for the pros. They are just bombing away with driver. Every one of Rory’s tee shots in round 1 was over 317 yards. With 40+ yard wide fairways there is no fear. Width is supposed to bring angles more into play but the pros are hitting it so far that they don’t care if they are on the left or right side because they have wedge in. I think narrower fairways actually makes the pros have to decide if they want to hit driver or lay back.

[JESII]

Eric, it’s the soft greens, not the width that enables the approach we’re seeing.

[JESII]

And slow...which I assume is intentional from the Tour.


It is TV after all...

[Jeff Evagues]

The scores remind me of the Bob Hope Desert Classic.

[JESII]

Kind of startling really...AGC has always been the big bad course around here and 132 for two rounds leaves you in about 10th place.


To me, the course is spectacular after the restovation. It’s great for member play and would hold up well against these guys on those rare weeks when it truly is firm.

[Jeff Schley]

Eric, it’s the soft greens, not the width that enables the approach we’re seeing.

Correct this is the reason.  We saw what soft conditions did at Bellerive at the PGA just a few weeks ago, where they could shot at every pin without fear of running off.  Like throwing darts.

[Peter Flory]

I only had time to watch a few shots from today's round.  Seeing Rory drive it 313 with 1 yard of roll was eye opening. 


The course did look very photogenic on the broadcast.  Nice long views, which is rare for a non major. 

[jeffwarne]

I only had time to watch a few shots from today's round.  Seeing Rory drive it 313 with 1 yard of roll was eye opening. 

Seeing 65 day 1 not crack the Top 10 was eye opening as well.
Seems the only choices are to embrace the snooze fest of Bomb and wedge PGA Tour golf on courses the rest of us wouldn't enjoy or even want to walk or have an unplayable Shinnylike setup


You know just like they did in baseball when the normal scores were 30-27 before they put the ice and quicksand on the basepaths and batter's box rather than taking the Draconian step of regulating the equipment

[Jeff Schley]

I only had time to watch a few shots from today's round.  Seeing Rory drive it 313 with 1 yard of roll was eye opening. 

Seeing 65 day 1 not crack the Top 10 was eye opening as well.
Seems the only choices are to embrace the snooze fest of Bomb and wedge PGA Tour golf on courses the rest of us wouldn't enjoy or even want to walk or have an unplayable Shinnylike setup


You know just like they did in baseball when the normal scores were 30-27 before they put the ice and quicksand on the basepaths and batter's box rather than taking the Draconian step of regulating the equipment

The big equalizer was lowering the mound height for the pitcher, which reduces their advantage and ERA's went up over a half run in 1969. Also the shrinking of the strike zone was also an advantage for the offense.  Rule changes in sports has happened and done in relation to even the playing field for both sides.  In our case you have the player vs. the course.

[Joe Bausch]

Saturday's start has been delayed.  Rained steady overnight where I live, maybe 3 miles away from AGC.

[Joe Bausch]

Play today starts at noon as threesomes going off 1 and 10.


I was really hoping today's round wasn't delayed as PMick was scheduled to go off first at 8:40 with a marker.  I wanted to see just how fast he would get around the course... oh well, that would have been a fun prediction!

[Jeff Schley]

Johnny Miller made a swipe at Gil Hanse saying he was 10 years too late putting in the bunkers on #3 only 292 carry away, saying guy can regularly carry it over 300.  Johnny always making friends.

[Tim_Cronin]

Play today starts at noon as threesomes going off 1 and 10.


I was really hoping today's round wasn't delayed as PMick was scheduled to go off first at 8:40 with a marker.  I wanted to see just how fast he would get around the course... oh well, that would have been a fun prediction!

Phil wanted to speed around. He ordered an extra TV for his hotel suite and was going to watch college football the rest of the day. He was seen sneaking a look at a game on his phone, hidden under his yardage book, before his round.


Aronimink took 2.4 inches of rain overnight and NWS Philly expects another 1.7 beginning tonight and continuing all day Sunday and into Monday. This place is saturated. Kudos to the grounds staff for getting it ready today. Fans are out in force.


FYI, the course is set up at 6,990 yards today. Average as I write this is 67.106 with lift, clean and place in effect in fairways. Yesterday's 67.333 under the Rules of Golf is the lowest in BMW / Western Open history.

[Joe Bausch]

BMW Championship gates to open at 7 a.m. Sunday, parking lots opening at 6:30 a.m.

Tee times set for 7 a.m. – 8:50 a.m.

Newtown Square, Pa. (September 8, 2018) …All gates for the BMW Championship at Aronimink Golf Club will open at 7 a.m. on Sunday, with public parking lots opening at 6:30 a.m. Tee times will start at 7 a.m., with threesomes off both No. 1 and No. 10 tees. The last scheduled tee time is 8:50 a.m.

Lots opening at 6:30 a.m. include the general public parking lot at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, the H-Lot, D-Lot and S-Lot. Also, the public drop off at Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square will be open.

[Mark_Fine]

I have been going to a lot of professional events and most of the field hardly even notices bunkers that are 280 or 290 yards off the tee (they carry their 3W's that far or more).  They really play a different game.  A soft course like AGC has no defense.  If it was firm they would be hitting flop shots to many of the greens instead of full wedges and 9I irons.  The game for these guys has gotten away from the USGA.   

[Nick Ribeiro]

The fairways at Aronimink are REALLY wide! I played once before the redesign and twice after. I'm not sure we will ever know if Aronimink was a Donald Ross or JB McGovern design, but either way I am not sure either had 40+ yard wide fairways intended for the course... and that is one of the many reasons I call it a redesign.... 

[Tom Bagley]

Joe:
After seeing Aronimink on TV this weekend, I tried searching for an older photo album both here and on myphillygolf.com that showed the course after the Ron Prichard restoration work, but before Gil Hanse's work.  I am interested in comparing the two.  Are there any photo albums still out there?

Thanks,
Tom

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